A cruise service directly from Diamond Harbour to Sagar Island, around 100km (54 nautical miles) from Calcutta, was launched on Monday by a private operator with the support of the state government.
The new service will be available thrice a week on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
So far, there was no direct ferry service to Sagar Island, which houses the temple of the legendary Kapil Muni who is considered to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu.
The air-conditioned cruise run by Oprey Waterways (India) LLP can ferry 140 passengers on board would leave the Diamond Harbour Municipality jetty at 9.30am on the three days of the week and reach Kachuberai ghat in Sagar Island in one-and-a-half hours.
The cruise will begin its return journey for Diamond Harbour at 4.30pm on the same day.
“This service will develop the scope of religious tourism in the island, which is famous for Ganga Sagar Mela, since a large number of pilgrims visit the holy temple of Kapil Muni throughout the year,” said a senior official in the state tourism department.
The rate of the one-way journey has been fixed at Rs 348 for economy class and Rs 448 for premium class. The rate of a two-way journey has been fixed at Rs 646 for economy and Rs 846 for premium.
Tickets for the journey can be booked online through the operator’s website.
Cruise service operator Oprey Waterways (India) LLP will soon add an optional vehicle service for visiting the Kapil Muni temple on the island for interested passengers.
Sagar, an island in the delta of the river Ganga, lying on the continental shelf of Bay of Bengal, draws a large number of tourists every year.
The government-operated launch service from Lot-8 ghat of Kakdwip takes around an hour to reach the island (Kachuberia ghat). However, decreased water levels during low tide often delay the service.
The cruise service won’t let passengers sailing to Sagar Island suffer the usual woes, claimed the operating agency.
“Our cruise can navigate in low water and high tide. So, there is no question of loss of time. This will also help ferry patients for emergency medical service,” said Monalisa Ghorui, administrative officer of the operating company.